Trio Possible
by The Humbug
Summary: Being the second story in my ‘Sister’s Saga’, this is a sequel to ‘The Bestest Little Girl In The World’ and you MUST read that first to understand the relationships here. Shego and Kim are sisters, not lovers there is a little ‘What If?’ here but not too
1. Chapter 1

Trio Possible

Author: The Humbug

Disclaimer: "Kim Possible" and all characters within © The Walt Disney Company and its related entities. Kim Possible created by Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley. All rights reserved. No profit is being collected from the fiction contained within. You can blame the rest on me.

Rating: Rated-PG for combat violence and intimations of a physical relationship and intimate contact between consenting adult females, also some slightly harsh language. If this will offend you, please read something else.

Summary: Being the second story in my 'Sister's Saga', this is a sequel to 'The Bestest Little Girl In The World' and you MUST read that first to understand the relationships here. Shego and Kim are sisters, not lovers; there is a little 'What If?' here but not too much. In this story, Shego has just graduated from State University with a bachelor's degree and Kim has just graduated from Middleton High School.

Chapter the First / Homeward Bound

The beat up little VW 'bug' chattered its way along a street that had been crowded with students only a few days ago; now it was like a ghost town. The driver was skilled enough to handle the narrow lanes and sharp turns of the college town with ease, but the bags of groceries in the meager back seat had already given birth to litters of various foodstuffs.

Shego turned off of the main thoroughfare with its markets and boutiques, mostly empty now, and onto one of the older cobble stone streets of the residential blocks. Students were housed here, as well as a few untenured professors, and there was no conformity to the condition of each yard and façade. Some homes looked like something out of the film 'Animal House', while others were obviously the homes of local families.

This wasn't the first time that Shego's thoughts didn't stray to the thought of having a family of her own some day.

The young woman had been a student here until her recent graduation, walking these streets as often as she drove them, and now with a degree under her belt and a lifetime of opportunities before her, she looked towards the future with hope.

Hope of a career, of setting down roots of her own, maybe with 'someone special' as her mother still said. The thoughts turned bittersweet when she reminded herself that she already had someone special but that her parents might not react too well if they knew that Shego had been living with that person, sharing her life with them, for the last two years. Intelligent people that they were, the Drs. Mr. and Mrs. Possible were traditionalists of the first order and would frown on their oldest daughter living with anyone without being married.

Not that Shego was opposed to marriage; it would just present a challenge of its own at this point in time. Introspection would have to wait as she finally reached the curb in front of her house, small and clean and cramped though it was. Gathering the 'foodgitives' and placing them back in their bags, Shego locked her car and carried her groceries inside.

Having grown into a tall, statuesque young woman, Shego turned heads everywhere that she went. Not simply because of her dead white skin with it's faint greenish tinting or her full head of long midnight black hair. It was because she was a stunningly beautiful woman and did everything with a glow of power and confidence about her.

The kitchen was utilitarian and functional, but there was still plenty of space on the little refrigerator for photographs and many an intimate dinner had been eaten at the miniscule table. Shego was at the table now, sorting the food and putting it away, when she heard a noise upstairs. It was a muffled 'thump' and came from somewhere near the back of the second floor.

"Hello?" There was no reply other than the echoes of her voice.

No one else should be home; it would be over an hour until her lover returned home from work and Shego felt a slight shiver of anxiety. She was more than capable of handling a robber, but she didn't want to have to hurt anyone.

She heard another 'thump', louder this time.

"Hello?" There was still no reply. "Well, whoever you are, you picked the wrong house to break into."

This was made more than obvious as her hands flared with green light, the cascading visual effect of being able to generate a field of super-heated plasma. She mounted the stairs and made certain to skip the fifth one, which creaked, as she advanced.

Another 'thump' came from the end of the hall. The only door down at that end was the door to her shared bedroom. Pausing at the top of the stairs to listen, she became aware of other noises from that direction. Moving further along the hallway, she paused again at the door to her room, placing a pale green ear to the painted wood surface.

A giggle was clearly heard from within the room, then another 'thump'. Extinguishing the plasma from around her right hand, Shego twisted the doorknob and charged through the doorway.

The bedroom was always kept clean and tidy as a rule by mutual agreement of the occupants, both being very organized people, but now it was a wreck. Clothing was strewn across every square foot of floor and hanging over the few pieces of furniture, with the sole exception of the bed. Many a cold night had been spent keeping warm in that narrow bed, a reject from some local hospital once upon a time, and right now the metal springs were squeaking and the bedclothes were shifting chaotically as two forms could be clearly seen writhing beneath them.

Shego reached out and grabbed a corner of the blanket and pulled it to her, exposing the upper bodies of the occupants of the bed. The sight that greeted her was so shocking that her mouth hung limp and her eyes shot open. There were two women in her bed, their arms wrapped around each other, and neither one of them was she.

"Oh, hi, baby! I didn't hear you come in. Hey, did you remember to pick up some fresh lettuce? I'd planned on making a salad."

"Hi, spooky! Nice place you got here!"

"I'm sorry that you had to find out like this, but your baby sister is better in the sack than you are."

"Yeah, sorry Princess. My flight from Middleton actually landed earlier than expected, so your woman and I decided to make bouncy-bouncy."

"…"

"She doesn't look too well, does she?"

"Nah, she's always been that color."

The entwined pair began to laugh and the pale newcomer could contain herself no longer; she ripped the blanket completely off of the bed, exposing the fully clothed forms of her lover and her own little sister.

"Ghaa! My eyes!"

Shego's hands flew at her face as if fending off something horrible. She waived away the imaginary devils and then grabbed an extra pillow from a nearby chair and attacked the giggling bedmates. Her lover was the closest and received the brunt of the attack; she was used to such elaborate displays and accepted in with good grace.

"Ow, baby, stop! We were only joking!"

"Kimmie, get out of that bed, NOW!"

"Lighten up, Shegie, you're looking a might pale…"

The younger woman paused in feigned amazement at her own words, raising a hand over her mouth and batting her eyes in mock innocence.

"Oh, no, you didn't!" Shego threw the pillow into the face of her lover, distracting the auburn haired woman, and leapt onto the bed and grasped the slender redhead around the waist with both hands. The bed creaked beneath their combined weight as Shego proceeded to tickle her little sister so mercilessly that the younger girl couldn't breathe.

Now that she was no longer the recipient of her lover's ire, Betty rolled out of the bed to better watch the fracas from across the room. When she was sure that the howling victim could not possibly see her, Betty snuck forward and gently touched her pale girlfriend in a very tender spot.

"Eep! Not in front of Kim!"

So distracted was Shego that her sister was able to catch her breath and launch a counter attack, flipping the larger girl backwards and pinning her down. Although both girls were evenly matched for all their difference in size, Shego stopped fighting so that Kimmie could retain the upper hand; besides, they'd all had their fun.

Kim looked down at her older sister, her eyes bright with joy.

"You should have seen your face! I thought that you were going to faint!"

Shego smiled warmly and reached up to tousle the younger girls red hair. Her darling little sister had blossomed into a vibrant young woman of amazing energy and beauty.

"When did you get in?"

"Less than an hour ago."

"Wait, the 'rents let you fly all the way here by yourself?"

Betty had slipped her shoes back on and was watching the reunion with delight. Sometimes her partner could be so dour but her little sister could always cheer her up.

She was a tall woman, only a few years older than her lover, not quite as tall or shapely as Shego but still larger and curvier than the petite Kim. Her eyes were dark and her hair was a short auburn bob. While Shego tended to dress more like a beatnik, with an even quantity of green mixed in with the black, Betty wore conservative trousers and suits when she wasn't being explicitly casual.

"Doy! I am a little older than the last time you saw me! Besides, they paid for my one-way ticket only if I promised to bring you back with me for a few days." It was obvious from Kim's face that she could think of no better idea in the world.

Shego's face changed slightly and Betty moved in to sit on the bed with them.

"Baby, why should your parents have any harder of a time accepting us than your sister did? They sound like wonderful people; you really should go and visit for a few days now that classes are over and you're finished with college."

The pale girl didn't answer fast enough and Betty took this as a bad sign.

"Kimmie, could we have the room for a minute? I think that your sis and I need to have a heart to heart." The slender girl returned the look with a serious nod, but then found that she was unable to rise from the bed. Shego had reached up and held her by the shoulders, pulling her down gently but irresistibly. Kim was eventually lying across Shego's chest, her big sister holding on tight and kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, Kimber-dweeb. I'm glad that you're here."

"It's Ok, Sheg. I love you too. I'll put those groceries away while you two talk." Shego looked into the clear green eyes, so like her own, and then kissed the girl one more time before letting her go. Kim left and went downstairs. Betty slipped back onto the narrow bed and drew her girlfriend close.

"She's really special."

"Yeah, she's a hot little number…"

"BETTY!"

The auburn haired woman laughed at the heat that flared against her chest.

"I'm sorry, baby, but your expression really was precious." The kiss that followed was brief but sincere. "We really were just joking and it was her idea; I was afraid that you'd take it too seriously, but she insisted." Betty looked down at her partner with her own set of dark eyes.

"Please don't tell me that you really think that I would have touched her, do you?"

"No, of course not! It's just that…"

"What?"

"She's my little one and I worry about her. It was just a bit of a shock for the first two or three seconds, that's all."

"I know." In the last two years, Shego and Betty had shared much with each other, including Shego's childhood history. The woman sighed and wondered how anyone as strong and confident as Shego could have such powerful moments of worry.

"Look, Kimmie is special, and you're special too. You have a wonderful family that would absolutely love to have their oldest daughter to themselves for a few days, so you can go back with Kimmie and I'll see you when I…"

"No."

"Huh?"

"You're coming with me or I won't go."

Betty hadn't been prepared for this.

"Shego, look, when you're ready to take me home to meet your folks, I'll be ready in a heart beat." She lifted Shego's pale hand and placed it across her own heart. "The beating of this heart is for you and no one else. But we shouldn't rush this."

"'Rush'? It's been over a year since I was last home and they only came out here that one time. I made a mistake of not telling them about you; I want them to know about you and about us and about our plan."

"Well, at least they already know that I exist."

"Yes, but as a roommate, not as my 'someone special'."

"Are you sure? Are you really sure that now is the time?"

Shego sighed deeply, not out of concern but in confidence.

"Yes, now is the perfect time."

Betty looked down at the face she had come to see in her mind for most of her waking hours. She brushed a few loose strands of midnight black hair away from those bright emerald eyes and leaned in for another kiss.

"Ok, then. Let's get downstairs before Kim thinks that we're engaging in lesbian bliss up here." The two collected themselves and straightened the room back up a little before going back downstairs in search of dinner. Between the three of them a pleasant meal was prepared and they opted to eat in the living room rather than in the tiny kitchen. They joked a little more about the prank in the bedroom, Shego appreciating the shock value and cleverness of it, before they started to discuss the trip back to Middleton.

"So, how are things back home since last summer?"

"They're fine. Mom and Dad were really sorry that they haven't been out to visit more often, but they could tell that you wanted some space."

This was true, and though it was odd for such a close family to stay separated for so long, it really was under amicable conditions; the college was more than ten hours away by automobile and the Possibles knew that Shego wanted to get a taste of independence while away at school. There was a little separation anxiety, mostly from her father, but there were regular phone calls and emails so they never really were out of touch. Her parents expected that when Shego left the nest she would make the world her stage.

Shego had earned her degree in less than the standard four years, and had not wanted to participate in the actual graduation ceremonies. This was unexpected for the two well-educated adults, but they respected their daughter's decision. Shego had remained at State College for several more weeks, however, to receive a few key lessons from her advisor, Dr. Amy Hall.

"So, Kimmie, tell me… how did phrases like 'bouncy-bouncy' enter your vocabulary?" Shego watched the rosy blush spread across her little sister's face. "How is Ron these days, by the way?"

"He's fine." Kim was busily absorbing herself in her salad.

"Kim, I won't pry, but promise me that you're being careful. Please."

"I'm not stupid! I got 'The Talk', same as you. Thanks for the advance warning, by the way; I've never seen our folks so nervous in all my life! When they get like that, I wonder if their diplomas didn't come out of a box of Cracker Jacks."

"So are you going steady?"

"Yeah, and we really haven't done anything too intimate yet. Ron's so much of a gentleman around me and we've known each other for so long that it's a little weird." Kim slyly glanced beside her to where Betty was sitting on the sofa.

"And are you two being careful? I just hope that on top of everything else, there won't be a phone call telling the 'rents that you've knocked each other up."

Betty answered around a mouthful of pork chop.

"Believe me, she's tried."

Kim laughed so hard that it was several seconds before she could control herself, while Shego glowered across the room at her grinning lover, a dusky bruise of a blush riding on the pale skin. Dinner was finished and the three enjoyed each others company before Kimmie started to yawn uncontrollably; there was another room upstairs with a futon and she bade them good night. The remaining pair cleaned up what little mess there was in the kitchen and retired to their own bed.

"Are you still thinking about it?"

"What?"

"Having children."

Shego was spooned around Betty, the taller woman embracing her lover from behind. Betty was aware that this was a comfortable position for Shego, as long as it was understood that they were NOT sisters and would definitely NOT be treating each other that way. As a matter of fact, they behaved in a very un-sisterly manner several times a week.

Shego's fingertips were gingerly tracing a pattern on her lover's flat belly.

"Yes, quite often in fact. I know that we've had this talk before, but I really need to know about our future together."

"It will be rough, as long as the world wants it to be rough. The world does change, though."

"Will we always be together?"

"I want nothing else than to share my life with you. That's why I want to tell my folks about us, in person, at home where they'll be comfortable."

"You know, I've never understood how your sister could accept me so quickly."

"You? You're the greatest, how could someone not accept you? I expect that it was the fact that I'm… what I am that shocked the crap out of her."

Betty's body was shaking in her arms.

"What?" No answer.

"What, baby?" Oh, Lord, was she crying? What did I say?

Betty found her voice, and to Shego's relief she was attempting to stifle a fit of the giggles, not sobs.

"After all that we've done in the bedroom, and the sofa, and the back yard…"

"Hey, it was dark! No one saw us!"

"And yet you still can't bring yourself to say the word 'lesbian'."

Shego hugged her lover tight, nails digging into flesh, making the other woman moan with arousal.

"You know damn well what I am, sugar plum, I just hate labels."

Betty turned around in the bed and faced her partner; they kissed fiercely and grappled as if wrestling against the world that wasn't yet ready to warmly accept their choice of lifestyle. Instead, they warmly accepted each other.

As their lovemaking became more fervent, Kim held both pillows over her head so that she would not hear everything done and said in the next room, as well as not start laughing and ruin her big sister's night. Other than maybe Betty, no one cared for Shego's happiness or well being more than her little sister.

At breakfast, no one admitted to not getting enough sleep the night before, but the suggestion of a brief nap after the morning's activities was heartily accepted.

"So what's on the agenda?" The redhead had made them let her clean up the morning's mess.

"Well, the two of us have an early appointment with a friend of ours, who also happens to be my ex-advisor, and then the three of us can start getting ready to drive home this afternoon."

"The three of us?" Slightly puzzled at first, Kim's face lit up when the implication hit her." Oh, wow, Betty is coming too? You're going to tell them?" She was closest to Betty and threw her arms around the nodding woman. "That's great!"

Betty was as pleased as anyone, but was slightly taken aback at the redhead's enthusiasm. She lightly stroked the young girls arm.

"Don't worry, my folks are normal, it's only Kimber-dweeb that's a spazz."

"She's wonderful. Remember, I have a twin brother who keeps reminding me that he's a few minutes older and should be given the proper respect."

Kim turned to her.

"Gee, that would be annoying. He's not fat, too, is he?"

Kimmie was already running out of the room before she finished the question, Shego hot on her heals. Betty grinned and topped off her glass of juice as the giggles started in the living room.

The campus was so close that they could have walked, but there were other arrangements to make and items to pick up so they piled into Shego's Volkswagen and parked in front of the science building. The doors were still open since several faculty members were going to be on campus for a few more days, and they soon found themselves outside of the office of Dr. Amy Hall.

Shego knocked softly on the door.

"Come in!" The words were practically sung. Dr. Amy Hall was bent down over her laptop computer and finished her typing with a flourish.

"Oh, girls! Is it that time? I nearly forgot when you were stopping by!" Dr. Hall stood and beckoned them into the cluttered office. "Come in, come in! Sit, sit, sit!"

The older girls walked to the battered couch at one end of the tiny room, shifting a few stacks of papers aside, but Kimmie walked to the opposite wall as if in a trance.

"Whoa!"

One entire wall of the office was lined with shelving, all of which was crammed with Cuddle-Buddies of every make, model, and description. This was the main reason for the rest of the office being as cluttered as it was.

"Oh, hello!" Amy had noticed that her expected guests had brought someone else with them. "I don't believe that we've met!" She stood and joined Kim at the wall.

"I'm Kim, Kim Possible, and I'm Shego's sister." They shook hands warmly.

Dr. Amy Hall was a short stout woman in her late thirties, with bright eyes and a slightly crooked but contagious smile and an unruly mop of short black hair. She also had a smattering of freckles and thick glasses across her button nose and was very energetic.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! I see you noticed my collection of Cuddle Buddies! Do you collect them too?"

"Not exactly. Shego and I had a Panda Roo when we were little; I still sleep with him in the bed. I can't get to sleep without him."

"Did you know that I was the president of the Cuddle Buddie fan club a few years back?"

"Really! Wow, Shegie and I were members when we were kids!"

Betty knew about their older friend's obsession, but not that Shego had ever partially shared in it. She looked askance at her lover, who was attempting to fade into the couch.

"Oh, really?"

"Um, yeah, we were." Shego seemed to be especially interested in a journal covering the latest research in sponge migration.

"Oh, what fun! We had a website and a mailing list and there was shared artwork and members would post their own stories on the site!" Amy was on a roll now that she had found a new 'Cuddle Buddie Admirer'.

"I still remember some of those stories! Someone called 'GreenPrincess123' posted the best ones; they were the cutest!"

"Oh, yeah, they were! I remember one that… hey, wait a minute."

There was a collective pause as three sets of eyes slowly turned to Shego.

"SHEGO, that was YOU?" Kimmie's eyes could not have grown any wider.

"You've been holding out on me, Shego! All that time as your advisor and you never told me? I'm hurt!" Dr. Hall shook a finger in mock anger.

"Baby, is it too early to talk about divorce?" Betty was doing her best not to laugh openly.

"Oh, look, back in 1974 every sponge off the San Paolo coastline migrated a full two inches to the left."

"Baby, you're holding the magazine upside down."

"So that's why the arrow is pointing to the right. Hmm."

In short order, they were escorted out of Dr. Hall's office by the good doctor herself and down the hallway to the buildings main biology lab.

"My primary field of study has always been genetics, and being tenured at State College gives me the opportunity to experiment." She left the girls just inside the doors and walked off to a corner. "You wait right here, and I'll get the results of your blood work."

As the woman walked off, Kim turned to her sister with concern.

"Blood work? Are you Ok, Shego?"

"Sure, sweetheart, I'm fine."

"Betty's Ok too?"

Exchanging glances, Betty took the lead.

"Kimmie, since your sister and I are planning on staying together as a couple, we've been wondering how we might have a child someday. We've both known DNAmy…"

"Huh? DN-who?"

"DNAmy; it's her nickname. Amy is absolutely brilliant in the field of genetic research. She's made more practical advances than anyone else in the last five years."

Shego stepped up to the plate.

"You see, at first I was all about adopting a child, like I was. I suppose that I really should do that, as a sort of payback for the system that treated me so well when I was in my greatest need. I admit that the more time I spend with Betty, however, I wanted the baby to be ours, really ours, something of our own bodies."

"Wow, you really have been thinking about this." Kim glanced across the lab at the singing woman who was still rifling through papers. "Um, is Dr. Hall gay, too?"

"No, and it would hurt her feelings for her to hear you ask that. She was a very, very lonely woman until she met this anthropology professor from England who moved here a while back. Monty may be a bit stodgy, but he loves her and they're really good together."

Betty leaned in and spoke sotto voce.

"She told me the other day that he likes to do this 'monkey routine' sometimes; it freaked her out at first, but apparently he's a real animal."

"Here we are! All processed and ready for review!" Amy was back, but the look on her face wasn't quite as upbeat as the tone of her voice. She spread the papers out on a lab bench for all to see, but only she and Shego had any hope of translating the data.

"Shego, what you see here confirms what you and I suspected; it is highly unlikely that you would be physically capable of conceiving or carrying a fetus to full term. Your blood chemistry has been changed too much by your childhood experience, and the genetic alterations to your DNA make the placental barrier a moot point." She shook her head in distress.

"We each knew that this was the most probable answer already, but I hate for you to hear it from me." The woman sniffled slightly and looked away for a moment. Shego was nodding, her partner and her sister standing closely at her sides.

"It's Ok, Amy. You're the best person to hear it from." She held her arms around herself, mourning the life that she could never carry inside her own body.

"I'm just not human enough…OW!" Shego flinched from the two different hands that slapped her across the back of the head.

"Damn it, Shego, if I ever hear you say that again, so HELP me…"

"Spooky, I'll tell the 'rents if you start talking like that!"

"Ladies! Please! This is a hall of learning! I'll not have you behaving like students!"

Having subdued the small group, Amy picked up a nearby clipboard and whacked Shego across the forehead with it.

"OW! Amy, what's that for?"

"Betty and Kim are right! It's horrible for you to think that way! Especially after I found this…" One particular paper was waved in their faces.

"Your entire genetic make up wasn't affected, otherwise you would have died within weeks as your tissues mutated and ceased to allow the various systems to function. I have the necessary data here that confirms the existence of unaltered genetic material that can be collected and sampled for in-vitro fertilization of one of her eggs." Amy was pointing to Betty.

"So you can make it work?" The couple drew each other close.

"Honey, I can do anything! With the eggs that Betty already had removed and placed in suspension, along with the genetic sampling I've already taken, I can get started anytime!"

Amy smiled her crooked smile and her younger friends held each other tight, not daring to speak, not daring to break this moment of hope. Kim silently cried and smiled. There were a few more points to go over and Amy promised to wait until they contacted her again before she actually started the process; Amy received a big group-hug of her own before the trio piled back in the car and drove through town to complete the various errands before driving back to Middleton.

When they were finally ready to start their drive, Kim called her parents to give them the great news and to advise them of their starting time and that the three should arrive in the late evening. Betty made a few calls of her own and Shego quadruple checked the luggage. Eventually they were out on the interstate and headed for home.

"So when will the blessed event be?"

"Well, Kimmie, we have a plan for what we're going to do with our lives, both together and as careers. We'll tell you all about it tomorrow when the whole family is together; our idea also involves you, you see."

"Me? How?"

"Nothing doing, Kimber-dweeb. You'll have to wait." Shego smirked and kept driving. "So, how is the hero business these days?"

"Still the same; mostly heists and sabotage orchestrated from behind the scenes by Dr. Drakken. I've not spotted him in a long time, and can't quite link him directly to the crimes, but everything has his name written all over it. He's still a menace and a threat."

"Good old 'Uncle Drew'. I'll never forget that day; it was a Sunday and the weirdest day in my life."

"How about you? Still keeping in fighting trim?"

After their very first adventure back in Middleton, Shego and Kim had joined together to form a duo of adventurers and crime fighters, albeit on a local scale. They had seen and done some amazing things over the next few months, but when Shego left for college, it was up to Kim to carry on alone.

"I work out with Betty several times a week, and you can wipe that look off your face because that is NOT what I meant!" There was a giggle from the backseat. "That goes double for YOU!" Shego did grin in spite of herself.

"Betty and I are both into martial arts and that's how we met. We spar all the time and I've managed to hone my plasma control to a fine art."

"Oh, yeah. She can do this thing where she…"

"Do NOT make me pull over!" Both Kim and Betty were giggling. She wanted to join in with their merriment, even if it was at her expense, but the thoughts of her father's old college buddy wouldn't leave her head. Drew Lipsky had become something of a personal demon and boogeyman for Shego ever since she was in high school. Betty was watching from the backseat and could see the consternation behind the emerald eyes.

"Sorry, baby. Together we'll me more than able to take care of him."

"Damn straight." Consternation had changed to a wicked look. Kim noticed and also looked back to see the same look on Betty's face.

"What am I missing?"

"Baby, go ahead and give her a hint."

"Kimmie, how would you feel if you became part of a larger team?"

"Are you coming back home to work with me again?" Kim could hardly contain herself. "That would be spank'n!"

"What if both Betty and I were to join you?"

"Well, that would be great, but if she's going to be carrying your child…"

The auburn haired woman leaned forward from the backseat.

"Not right away, Kim; that's one of the things that your sister and I already discussed with Amy. We want the option of a child; Hell, it's more than an option, it's a certainty, but neither of us is quite ready for motherhood yet. We have to get settled and initiate our plans first, plus maybe just a little growing up of our own."

Shego blew her a raspberry and stuck out her tongue.

"Maybe a little more growing up from some more than others, but let's wait until we get there to talk about the rest."

The hours flew by with talk and laughter and music; they each took turns driving for only two hours at a stretch so no one would get tired and there would be plenty of breaks. Kim waited until she was driving and her sister was asleep to broach a particular subject with Betty.

"You two really love each other, don't you?"

"We sure do, Kimmie. I was surprised that you accepted that so fast."

"Well, she's my sister; I trust her with anything. Whatever she wants to do… as long as it doesn't involve farm animals or cults… is just fine with me."

"So it doesn't bother you that we're intimate?"

"Please don't be upset, but… at first it was weird. I only ever pictured Shego and I going out with boys; I never had any other picture in my head, that's all. But after she told me, and after I thought about it for a little while, I didn't see it as weird any more."

Kim swallowed and dared to get an old fear off of her chest.

"Especially after I saw that you weren't going to attack me."

"You proved that when we played that trick on your sister. Kimmie, being gay doesn't make me less desiring of a monogamous relationship. I hesitate to use the word 'soul mates' but the longer we're together, the more that Shego and I want to be together forever." Betty took a chance of her own and reached out for the younger girls shoulder.

"It also doesn't make me a pedophile or that I'll randomly go after anything in a skirt either. I love you already as the sister I never had and I think you're amazing…"

"Thanks!"

"Plus, you're a little young for me."

"Ghaa!"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Does homosexuality in general bother you?"

"Not any more. When I was talking about you and Shego earlier, I said that I'd never pictured anything other than girls going out with boys; same sex relationships wasn't something that I ever thought about. So it never really 'bothered' me, it was just different."

"How about your folks? Do you think that it will bother them?"

"The 'rents are from a different time, so I can't say how they'll react. I kept my promise and never mentioned anything to them about your relationship, so they think that the roommate is coming for a visit, nothing more." Kim looked away from the road just long enough to make brief eye contact. "Trust me that they will welcome you, but I have no idea what to expect in those first few minutes. Please trust them, Ok?"

"Ok, I will. I promise."

Shego smiled in the backseat where she had been silently eavesdropping and returned to sleep.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes: If you haven't already read 'The Bestest Little Girl In The World' this won't make much sense. There will be three more chapters to this tale and at least one other story in this particular Saga.


	2. Chapter 2

Trio Possible

Author: The Humbug

Disclaimer: "Kim Possible" and all characters within © The Walt Disney Company and its related entities. Kim Possible created by Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley. All rights reserved. No profit is being collected from the fiction contained within. You can blame the rest on me.

Rating: Rated-PG for combat violence and intimations of a physical relationship and intimate contact between consenting adult females, also some slightly harsh language. If this will offend you, please read something else.

Summary: Being the second story in my 'Sister's Saga', this is a sequel to 'The Bestest Little Girl In The World' and you MUST read that first to understand the relationships here. Shego and Kim are sisters, not lovers; there is a little 'What If?' here but not too much. In this story, Shego has just graduated from State University with a bachelor's degree and Kim has just graduated from Middleton High School.

Chapter the Second / Setting Down Roots

"Anne, will you please sit down before I lock you in the den? They aren't here yet."

John talked around the pipe in his teeth and refolded his paper. Anne bustled in the kitchen to get some hot water boiling for tea and coffee and she set some fresh cookies out to cool.

"I swear; the day when your daughter returns home after three and a half years and you'd think that you hadn't a care in the world!"

"Of course, I care." Knowing that she probably wasn't listening, the man stood and walked to the kitchen where his wife was muttering and making preparations. He moved in behind her and gently disarmed her of her kettle and spatula, turning her around and talking her in his arms.

"I almost feel like the day we first met her." He kissed her on the nose and Anne slowed down her breathing for the first time in hours. With only a few inches in height on her younger daughter, Anne Possible was an older version of the redhead, except for blue eyes and slightly darker red hair. While Shego could not trace her biological origins to anyone in the Possible family tree, she had learned her disciplines and values from both parents and wanted nothing more than to be like them.

Anne shoved John aside when she heard a car door slam in the driveway.

"Damn it, John! I'm not ready!"

His long-suffering sigh was her only solace.

The Possibles opened the door to a wonderful sight; their beloved daughters were slowly pouring out of a tiny car, pausing to stagger around and stretch their cramped and weary muscles. Another young woman wearing a slightly more orderly outfit followed behind, carefully removing the luggage from the trunk of the car. Kim saw the older folks first and ran all the way to the front door, embracing both of them at once.

"Here we go… the moment of truth." Shego muttered in trepidation.

"You really do need to relax, you know that?"

"'Relax', hmm, what is this 'relax' of which you speak? We do not have 'relax' on my planet."

There was no further time for discussion because they had already reached the front stoop and Anne was moving forward to embrace her oldest child.

There were a few teary minutes of welcomes and introductions before Anne Possible was finally dragged inside and placed in a chair. She was slightly overcome at having the whole family together again and John was no less emotional, though he was much more in control. Kim took responsibility of getting the luggage inside and then to the various bedrooms, more than happy to let her sister and Betty be the center of attention.

As expected, the Possibles were quite taken by Betty.

"So dear, tell us how you and Pumpkin met."

Shego had hoped to keep that particular appellation a secret for a few hours more, but no such luck. To her credit, Betty maintained a straight face, though a shared glance warned of severe teasing to come.

"Well, I started college later than usual, so it's lucky that we met at all. I was a pretty rough kid and was always in trouble, so I probably wouldn't have gone to college at all if it weren't for the military."

"Oh? What branch?"

"The Army; I joined up right out of high school and they proceeded to tie a knot in my keister. I swear that I would likely be dead right now if they hadn't forced me to grow up." She took a sip of her tea. "Then I decided to go for a degree. I'd learned more during my time in the Army than I can ever repay them for, but something told me that a military career wasn't for me. With my training and experience, I thought that I'd get my degree in criminal science and law enforcement."

"Good for you! Having plans of joining the police?"

Betty shared another look with Shego, this one far more meaningful.

"Something like that, yes, ma'am."

"Our little Princess…"

"Mom!"

"Baby, please be quiet, I'm talking to your friend. Anyway, our Princess never did make many friends in high school, so what was it that brought you two together?"

Leaving the big news for the 'Princess', Betty continued with her autobiography.

"Shego and I were taking the same criminal law class, hers as an elective and mine for my degree. We worked out at roughly the same time at the campus gym and each moved in the same general circles. Plus we both enjoy martial arts training."

Several more minutes of small talk ensured and regardless of the late hour, the smell of fresh-baked cookies drew everyone's attention.

"Oh, John, please go and get that plate of cookies that I set out on the counter. Would you, dear?"

"Live to serve!" John's grin belied his words and he trotted off.

"'Director'? Please forgive me, but of what national origin is that?"

"None, really, unless you count American through the courtesy of Ellis Island; my Great Grandfather arrived there and was so happy to reach America that he never made reference to our family's original name ever again."

Anne nodded and refreshed Betty's tea.

"John's family has a similar story in their distant past, I suspect."

"What's this about my family?" The tall man set down the plate and returned to his chair.

"Nothing, dear. Just commenting on the origins of the name 'Possible'."

"Oh, that. Some great-great-great-great-Grandfather hoping to escape a piracy conviction, most likely."

"DAD!" Shego and Kim were embarrassed.

"What? That's always been my belief." He turned to his eldest daughter. "Shego, tell us more about your friend."

Was this the time?

"Well… she's a neat-freak like I am. She can make a mean beef stew and can tear down the engine of my car like no one else, and…"

Her brain locked; he wanted to say the words but nothing would come out.

"Shego?"

They were all looking at her in puzzlement. Her folks began to assume that their daughter was simply tired, as they all were, and that the long drive was finally catching up with her. Betty lowered her eyes and suspected that she knew what was going on. The auburn haired women reached out and took a pale hand, as did a certain young redhead who was seated close enough to make her own good guess.

Shego took a very deep breath.

'…andBettyandIhavebeenlivingtogetherassacouplefortwoyears!"

Betty wanted to take her lover in her arms and give her the support that she knew Shego wanted but did not; a bombshell had just been dropped and she would not risk driving the parents over the edge. Kim slid closer to her sister and both of the Possible girls waited to see what their parents would do next.

Anne had been reaching out to take one of her own cookies and had brought it halfway to her mouth when the words were spoken in a rush. Now she was frozen in place. John's face was neutral, looking first at his oldest daughter, and then Betty, and then over at the still form of his wife. He was the first to move, standing up and walking out of the room.

The tremors from Shego's arm reached Betty's hand. She whispered to her partner as quietly as she could.

"You did good, soldier. Stay cool."

Shego couldn't have moved if her life depended on it.

John returned after only a few seconds with a billfold in his hand; he opened it and removed two ten dollar bills and handed them to Anne.

"Thank you." Anne nibbled on her cookie.

"MOM?"

"Well, it seemed pretty obvious to me after your fifth email home."

"I believe that it was the eighth, dear."

"DAD?"

"Sorry, Pumpkin, but I'd bet that you were planning on becoming a nun."

"WHAT?"

"Wishful thinking, I realize that now."

Shego had released the hands of her sister and her lover and was on the verge of total confusion. Betty leaned back and got Kim's attention and they were preparing to move away from the couch when two hands flared with green plasma fire and hovered out before them.

"You two, SIT!"

"Sheila Gordon Possible, do not emit plasma in this house. Your Mother and I have told you time and time again." The green death was quickly extinguished but Shego would not be calmed.

"What do you two know about this? Did you tell them?" She turned on her sister, Kim's eyes wide with surprise.

"No way, Spooky, I swear! I never told them anything!"

"Sheg, you were with me every time I ever spoke to your folks before tonight."

Seeing that their daughter was much too shocked and tired for this to continue, Anne moved to the couch next to Kim.

"Shego, please calm down. Your Father and I are not upset and do not think ill of how you've chosen to live your life. Any trepidation we felt was gone by the end of the first year. You really were quite revealing in your emails; it was our Father that first picked up on it, though now that's he's lost twenty bucks I doubt that he'll care to remember that."

John rolled his eyes and dipped a cookie into his coffee cup.

"No, as a matter of fact I do remember. I read something about an evening out and working on an assignment together, then something about a special dinner you two prepared for a mutual friend and her date. I called your Mother into the den and had her read it; I wanted to see if she was getting the same vibes."

"My exact words were, 'Holy shit! Our baby has a girlfriend.'"

"Language, Anne, please."

It was Anne's turn to roll her eyes.

"Regardless, we paid close attention from that point on. When we were out to visit you that one time, we suspected that you might not be ready to tell us, so we just observed the way you two were together. You both looked so good together, so at ease and gentle. John and I agreed that if Betty were a boy, you were acting exactly like a married couple."

"Our Princess always was mature for her age."

"So… you can accept what I am?"

"Of course. You are our daughter. We will always accept you for what you are."

"Always."

"Yeah, Spooky, it's not like Dad saved the receipt from the orphanage after all this time."

"KIMMIE!"

"Actually, Kimmie-cub, I did, but the warranty ran out on her years ago."

"DADDY!"

"I told you John; you should have let her at least talk to a boy now and then."

"MOM!"

One of Shego's oldest fears, the original fear one might say, was that she would be turned out of the house and taken back to the State Home where the Possibles had adopted her. Bolstered by an unfortunate incident that resulted in a fire many years ago, this primal fear had been the basis for much of her personality formation. It was only after she finally revealed her powers to her parents and told them the truth behind the childhood incident that the family could finally understand their oldest child and assuage those fears.

Now that so many years had passed, they would even make the occasional joke about it.

"As for you, young lady, Shego's Mother and I agree that you seem to be a perfect match for our Pumpkin, but so help me that if you ever hurt her, you'll get to see first hand what the event horizon of a black hole looks like."

There was something serious behind the levity.

"Yes, sir!"

Shego, Betty and Kim were so tired that the previous hour could have been a hallucination for all they knew. The older folks could see this and began to hustle them off to bed. John decided to risk making a request.

"Shego, I'd like Betty to sleep in the guest bedroom during your stay here." He didn't make this a demand or a request; he just threw out the statement and watched where it landed. "You and your sister could share her room; the room you shared before college."

"Dad, we've been…"

"No, Shego, it's Ok. This is your parent's home and it's not an unreasonable request."

"Are you really Ok with that?"

"I'm sure, baby"

Betty was sincere in her agreement and smiled back at John. The taller man offered to escort her to the guest room and he snagged her suitcase from the hallway. The family agreed by mutual consent that there had been entirely too much drama that night and they could start fresh in the morning over some breakfast; that way any additional life plans could be discussed without any secrets to cause miscommunication.

Before they all went their separate ways for the night, Shego just had to clarify the sitch one final time.

"So you and Dad are really Ok with this, all of it?"

"Well, Princess, we did have almost two whole years to observe and review."

"Your Father even devised a flow chart, for crying out loud."

"Yep, see?" From behind the sofa he extracted a large piece of white poster board filed with degrees of probability and different career and lifestyle paths.

"Why are there two dotted lines, one going to 'Farm Animals' and the other to 'Cults'?"

"Well, Pumpkin, I just wanted to have all of the bases covered."

"JOHN, HONESTLY!"

"Well, we'd still have loved her, right?"

The morning sun rose on time and every member of the newly extended family felt much for the better over their late night discussion. The kitchen table was more than big enough for the entire group and Betty was busily working on her second stack of pancakes. The Possible clan was dressed in their nightclothes, robes and slippers but the young auburn haired woman was already outfitted for a full day of work.

"If you start to get as porky as Kimber-dweeb, the wedding is off."

Shego teased her partner from across the table. John paper rustled slightly and, though they could not see his face, he was smirking at his daughter for how better off she was when she allowed herself to relax. Kim herself was non-responsive, collapsed in her chair like a marionette whose strings had been cut. The red hair was covering her entire face in an unruly mop and the girl would occasionally take a bite of food or a drink of juice as if on automatic pilot.

"Honey, the wedding is already off. I'm leaving you for your Mother if she always cooks this good."

"Back off, she's taken." John did let his daughter's friend off the hook by lowering the paper slightly and giving her a wink. Anne resumed her own seat just in time to keep Kim from falling asleep with her face in her syrupy pancakes.

"Kimmie, will you please pull yourself together? For goodness sakes!" Anne brushed a few loose hairs out of the face of her youngest daughter and looked at Shego in frustration. "As tired as you two were last night I'd have expected you to have gone straight to sleep. Where you up talking half of the night?"

Kim cracked open one eye and looked around at nothing.

"She snores."

Shego scowled but made no defense.

"I, however, had the best night's sleep in months." Betty ignored the pale green glare and the auburn haired woman snagged another pancake.

"So, is it too early in the day for you ladies to spill the beans on your plans for the future?"

Shego looked to Betty for affirmation and the older girl could only shrug because her mouth was full of pancake. Feeling more confident about the answer to this question than the topic of discussion last night, she took the lead.

"Well, after much careful thought and consideration, Betty and I want to move here to Middleton and start our own business." Her father lowered his paper in surprise and Anne broke out in a huge smile.

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

"Enterprising, to say the least. What did you have in mind?"

"Have either of you ever heard of Pinkerton's?" Anne replied that she had not but John raised an eyebrow at the name.

"Yes… security and detective services, I believe, started in the mid 1800's."

"Yes, sir. Well, the two of us have earned several credits in criminal law and Betty has her military training and experience. I have my training and experiences from Team Possible with Kimmie and we both know how to fight. Betty's great with equipment and technology and I'm good with science and math and besides," she raised a hand and briefly let her plasma flare, "I can add this to the equation."

Anne was no longer smiling.

"You girls are going to be crime fighters?"

"That's what we want to establish together; a contractor that can provide security, detective and bodyguard services, as well as property retrieval and the ability to coordinate with local law enforcement for the apprehension of criminals."

"Crime fighters!" Betty had finally managed to swallow the pancake.

"Shego, I suspect that your Mother and I are thinking the same thing; that you are too young to be deciding on a career that will place you directly in harms way."

"Actually, sir, ma'am, there's more to it than that. I was able to make all sorts of connections and contacts during my military service. I have access to or the ability to gain access to multiple sources of data and materials that would make us far superior to anyone else attempting this. We'll have better support and resources than any 'Private Eye' or bounty hunter ever would!"

"Right! We'll be a for-profit agency and screen all clients thoroughly; the rates will vary but more than enough to cover all expenses and overhead, including medical and dental!"

John knew that he and his wife were in trouble; when Shego had thought something out in this much detail it meant that she was going to do it. Now it was a matter of presenting her with cons and getting a true idea of her commitment.

"But you'll be mercenaries for hire. I don't like that, not one bit."

"No, sir, if you'll pardon me. We're not going to be mercenaries any more than a security guard at the mall would be. We won't be a militia, either; we'll be business-people."

"Yeah, Dad. We both know the law and will always interact appropriately with the police and legal system."

"This will be just the two of you?" Anne was far from convinced.

"Well, yeah, at first. But Mom, after we've gotten set up and made a name for ourselves we'll advertise for other people with similar experience and a desire to help people."

"That's what this is really about, Mrs. Possible. Helping people that cannot help themselves. There would be plenty of ex-military who might join, and we'll be carefully screening prospective employees."

"Sure, and we'll hire specialists in different fields and eventually have a whole staff of field agents and support technicians. The thing is, we will have to start very small, but in a few years we'll grow in a force to be reckoned with!"

"And the money for all of this will come from… where?" John was a moderately frugal man and didn't want his daughter, or her new friend, to get in debt at so young an age.

"Well, that's where Betty comes in again."

"Yep. The initial startup capital will be from grants and loans I've gotten through the Army, plus some grants available from the U.S. government that are available for new businesses. It's all above-board and legal if you just know where to look for it."

"Plus we'd look for investors after a while, but believe me, we've researched the going rates from other companies that offer similar services to huge corporations and even to government agencies; we could save them a boatload of scratch and still recoup our initial investiture and make a very hefty profit, even after taxes."

"Shego's been corresponding with an old classmate who's working for the Middleton 'Smarty Mart'. He's got a good head for saving money and willing to take classes to become a CPA if we'll hire him."

There was a muffled thump as Kim slowly sagged forward onto her plate.

"Oh, dear, Kimmie-cub's fallen into her breakfast! How can someone with so much energy not be a morning person?"

John reached over and gently lifted his younger daughter upright.

"…"

"What did you say, Kimmie?"

"Anne, please peal the pancake away from Kimmie's face, will you."

Eyes still closed and with her hair matted with syrup, Kim spoke as clearly as would be expected with pancake in her nose.

"There's always one of the abandoned lairs that I chased Drakken out of. The Middleton police confiscated his stuff, but the empty spaces are still there. They've got power and water and the City of Middleton was so appreciative that they just might give us one."

And then she was out like a light once again.

"Us?" Anne had a very hard expression on her face. "Were you planning on letting Kim play cops and robbers as well?"

"Mom, Dad, Kim and I worked together as 'Team Possible' before I went off to college. She carried the weight of keeping the city and a large part of the country safe from Dr. Drakken and other criminal enterprises all by herself. If Betty and I were to exclude her from this it would tear out her heart." Shego looked at her baby sister, sleeping in her chair.

"I can't let that happen, as much as I want to keep her safe, but we'll discuss that together later because I can promise you that we won't let her get hurt." Shego stood up from the table and lifted Kim in her arms.

"Sheg, that's a great idea your sister had. That'll cut my estimates of our initial investment by at least half if we can just find a suitable place."

"Good. Our plan for the day will be to outline the resources we'll need at the beginning. After we make a detailed listing we'll arrange for moving our belongings here to Middleton." She smiled down at the petite girl in her arms and kissed a maple-flavored cheek. "I'm going upstairs to get this one in the shower."

John and Anne also got up from the table and followed their children to the stairs.

"Princess, are you really certain about this?"

"You two could be seriously hurt!"

"Mom, I already promised that I'd look after Kim…"

"No, dear. I meant Betty. She seems like a wonderful girl and if you two love each other you need to look out for her as well, and she for you."

"Thanks, Mom, I appreciate that you feel that way. I won't say that we have all of the answers, but we can both take good care of ourselves." Shego took the stairs two at a time and was careful not to jostle Kim. Returning to the kitchen, the Possibles found Betty cleaning up after everyone, already filling the sink with water and setting aside the few leftovers for storage in the refrigerator.

"I hope that you don't mind; Shego wasn't kidding about my being as big a neat-freak as she is." Anne nodded with approval at the efficient cleanup job.

"I don't mean to pry, dear, but have you spoken with your own parents about this?" Anne gestured loosely in the air because she didn't want to say anything offensive. "About any of this?"

"About both Shego and our business plans? No, ma'am, my folks died years ago and I have a brother that I don't really get along with. I'd love to be a part of a family like yours and Shego and I, well, we really seemed to bond." The younger woman turned away from the dishes and faced the wife and husband.

"We're serious about being together. I care for your daughter more than anything else in the world." Betty glanced towards the steps and all around the kitchen to make certain that Shego had not come back down stairs yet. "The thing is, Shego and I have already been talking about having a child together."

"Oh… OH! Dear, that's wonderful! Hopefully after you've already gotten your business venture established?" Betty was already nodding fervently before Anne was finished asking the question.

"Absolutely! Listen, you two have been more accepting and understanding than either Shego or I have a right to expect, but this would definitely be a plan for the future. We're not ready for that right now and aren't in any position to make a good home for a child yet. Right now we'll just arrange to get a place to stay and our things from our rental house near the University."

The older couple assisted the latest addition to the family with cleaning up the kitchen. They talked for almost an hour before Shego and Kim were dressed and back down stairs, ready to start taking their lives in a new direction.

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Trio Possible

Author: The Humbug

Disclaimer: "Kim Possible" and all characters within © The Walt Disney Company and its related entities. Kim Possible created by Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley. All rights reserved. No profit is being collected from the fiction contained within. You can blame the rest on me.

Rating: Rated-PG for combat violence and intimations of a physical relationship and intimate contact between consenting adult females, also some slightly harsh language. If this will offend you, please read something else.

Summary: Being the second story in my 'Sister's Saga', this is a sequel to 'The Bestest Little Girl In The World' and you MUST read that first to understand the relationships here. Shego and Kim are sisters, not lovers; there is a little 'What If?' here but not too much. In this story, Shego has just graduated from State University with a bachelor's degree and Kim has just graduated from Middleton High School.

Chapter the Third / Setting Up Shop

"'Three Hot Chicks'?"

"No, that sounds like we're running an adult Internet site!"

"And you'd know that how?"

"I plead the Fifth Amendment."

"'Heroes For Hire'?"

"You frighten me, Spooky. You read way too many comics as a kid."

"They were graphic novels!"

"Besides, Shego, it's also copyrighted."

"'Charlie's Angels'!"

"Too old school, and it's copyrighted, and we don't know anyone named Charlie."

"Moving right along; how about 'Lesbians In Tight Clothing'?"

"Hey! I'm not a lesbian!"

"Trust me, Kimmie, you'll get more boyfriends that way."

As it happened, their clothing was rather tight at that, though still fetching in an 'Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.' sort of way. Betty had created a form-fitting outfit that looked the most regimental and militant of the three, while Kim was wearing her black crop top and loose cargo pants. Shego had opted for a sleek one piece overall garishly colored in a 'dazzle' pattern of green and black.

"Ok, then, how about 'Kim, Betty and the Bitch'?"

"Girls…"

"No, I like 'Shego, Betty and the redheaded fat girl.'"

"Girls!"

"Oh, yeah, how about 'Ghostbusters'? Guess what that makes you?"

"GIRLS! This is getting us nowhere and besides, Kimmie, that last one is copyrighted, also."

"More boyfriends, huh? Hmmm."

The last month had been invested into turning the dream into a reality, and that road had been rife with potholes.

Finding a place to stay for Betty and Shego had the simplest task so far. Politely declining the sincere offer from the Possibles to stay with them for as long as they wanted, the girls both agreed that it would be much too awkward to live with Shego's parents and change the life they had become accustomed to. They were a couple already, regardless of legal standing, and were eager to resume their amorous activities, but only somewhere private.

Kim herself had provided the solution to two challenges; she had approached the mayor of Middleton and was readily granted one of Drakken's many abandoned sites, this one being several miles outside of town and totally stripped of anything deadly or nefarious. There were, as Kim had postulated, already viable sources of power and water and drainage to the sewer systems, and the habitation dormitories of the lair proved as suitable for the new Team Possible as they apparently had for the former henchmen who previously occupied them.

The property was theirs and the Town of Middleton would pay the utilities for the first year as gracious show of support from the town council to Team Possible, both old and current. The council was overjoyed when it was explained to them what the former lair would be used for; Middleton had been the setting for far too many of Drakken's schemes.

Kim wanted to stay at the lair also, and the older girls were quick to agree. The parents were not wholly comfortable with their younger daughter living in the lair with Shego and Betty, but after several assurances from both girls that they would behave like responsible adults, the Possibles relented. The work ahead would necessitate long hours and Kim felt that she needed to be on-site and close to the action until the time came for her leave for college.

"Welcome… to my secret underground lair!" It looked very strange to the three young women as they used the access code provided to them by the Middleton police department to gain access to the primary vehicle garage, Shego's tiny and battered Volkswagen being the only thing in the center of the vast space.

"Shego, it's hardly secret. Both our local and toll free numbers will be in the new phonebook next month."

"And it's not underground either, Spooky. It's covered by a fake layer of grass and trees to look like a hill."

"… well, throw me frick'n bone once in a while, why don't you!"

The central chamber was enormous and there were corridors leading off in many directions. In addition to living quarters and bathrooms there was a functional hanger, several small kitchenettes and one huge dining hall with full kitchen, a medical bay and exercise room, computer and communications suites and rooms and rooms for storage, laboratories and anything else that they could possibly think of.

This would be the new headquarters and home of Team Possible.

Computer resources and Internet access were limited to two desktop personal computers and the individual laptops of the three teammates. Medical supplies and first aid would be limited to whatever they could purchase from the local pharmacy or through medical supply houses, though Anne Possible proved invaluable for her advice. Transport was increased by two hundred percent when the VW 'bug' was joined by a panel truck that would be used mostly for hauling in equipment, and a rebuilt and slightly battered M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle.

"Guys, is this thing legal to own privately?" Kim was inspecting the massive chassis while Betty inspected the engine and Shego pretended to know something about vehicle maintenance. "How did you even get this here? It looks like it's been through a war."

The older girls exchanged glances.

"Well, you see, Kimmie, it's like this…" Shego relinquished the floor to Betty.

"I, um, made certain connections during my military service that would prove helpful in obtaining certain, shall we say, resources that might well bolster our new enterprise."

"You mean you stole it?" It wasn't so much a question as a request for clarification.

"'Stole' is such a harsh word, Kim. I prefer to think of this former chariot as being 'previously owned by someone else', namely the Army, and the transfer of ownership being difficult to document. Can you live with that?"

"I don't know… this goes against the very thing we're hoping to stand against, doesn't it?" Kim was serious; she was young but not stupid, far from it. She knew the difference between bending the rules and breaking them and this seemed a little too much like the latter.

"Baby, it's been decommissioned. It's surplus now, and would have cost us an arm and a leg if we'd tried to buy it. It has seen its day and saved some lives and can still fight the good fight here on the home front."

"Plus, look here," Betty left the engine to indicate several brackets and bolts along the top and sides. "Even though the armaments have been removed, the armor is still first rate. It may not be the 'Mach V' but for around the tri-city area, we'll be Hell on wheels."

Only after a promise was given to teach the petite redhead how to drive the massive beast was she willing to overlook the indiscretion. This was actually a compromise; Kim had wanted to be the one to choose the color for its new paint job and name.

"Hot pink, and we'll call it the 'Kimminator'!"

"Doy! We'll paint it green and black and it will be the 'Shegonator!"

"I'm going to go shoot myself. You girls do whatever you want."

Ultimately the color was matte black with an empty gray field on the hood and doors for the eventual logo. Huge and practically a void when the lights were down, all three agreed that it looked absolutely badical!

The most difficult part of the setup for the new team had been Kimmie's involvement. Shego would always be the over-protective big sister, but she had agreed that Kim would be an equal partner in the company. The problem arose from her status as a minor and the family's desire to see her attend college.

Both Shego and Betty were adamant that Kim's membership was contingent upon Kim's class attendance and GPA; she was more than welcome to go on large scale missions during breaks and local ones after classes, but her degree was essential. Very intelligent, Kim was confident that this would not present an obstacle, neither did her family; the young woman had already planned to attend State College of Middleton instead of the University like Shego had because of the distance.

Another sore point was that Kim's name wouldn't appear on any of the legal documents; being a minor meant that everything would be in the name of Sheila Gordon Possible and Betty Director until Kim was legally an adult. While only a small issue really, Kim required additional assurances that the older girls were not trying to shut her out, even more so that the issue of her college education.

"You promise that I'll really be a member of Team Possible, right?"

She had been close to tears that afternoon; it had been a particularly trying day for all of them and the last of the paperwork was being signed and notarized to get the business started. This had been about two weeks ago and Kim was feeling in danger of being left out.

"Kimmie, you ARE Team Possible! This is just until you're of legal age and then we'll have the new papers drawn up immediately. No one in this room knows more than you what the state of organized crime is like around here."

"We promise. Believe me, I've seen your sister's reports of your abilities in the field, plus the press videos of the battles you've had. There's no way that we'd ever let you slip through our fingers. I have a lot to learn about fighting super-powered weirdo's and there will be no better teacher than you."

"Ok… if you promise." The eyes didn't look as wet anymore but the beginning of a pout was on the horizon.

"Yeah, we swear." Shego winked at Betty in a way that the older girl knew could not mean anything good. "This place is so huge that we'll always be needing people to clean and dust and HEY!" Kim was already up and running across the top of the table at her sister. Betty had to ultimately get a handgun from the weapons locker and fire a round through the ceiling before she could get their attention.

Other than make their preparations and get the headquarters ready for use, what few spare moments weren't necessary for sleeping or eating was invested in working out and training. They were each excellent at hand to hand combat and several styles of martial arms, with Kim being better at accuracy and speed while Shego was better at endurance and strength and Betty was a happy medium of the two, as well as being an expert marksman.

Throw Shego's plasma in for good measure and they believed that nothing could stand against them.

The girls had been working harder than they ever had in their lives, both in body and in mind, to make their dream a reality. Tempers would occasionally flare and each was feeling the stress in their own way. They were desperate to prove to themselves and the world that they could create something good and right, but what they really needed was to get out and actually DO something instead of planning for it.

The fact that they cared deeply for each other and that they already thought of themselves as an extended family helped immensely, and for the most part they had been able to agree to every aspect and facet of their joint endeavor.

Except for the right name.

"Ok, let's focus, shall we?" Betty was leaning as far back as her chair would go, head flopped back and neck limp, slowly turning her chair around and around with idle motions of her feet. "We're an independent contractor for security and public safety. The name that we chose has to define that purpose."

"Yeah, we fight bad guys and give them to the police!" Kim had brought her grappling hook gun to the lair and was firing the hook at stacks of empty crates for target practice after having removed the tether.

"Leave it to Kimber-dweeb to be eloquent as always."

"So… let's pick a name that describes what we do."

"Oh, I know! The 'Justice League'!"

"Kimmie, you really want us to get sued, don't you?" Shego had taken her massive length of black hair and had combed it down evenly from the crown of her head, either looking like Cher on a bad day or 'Cousin Itt' on a good day; this was so that no one would notice if she were to nod off to sleep during the discussion.

"Shego, she's got something with the 'justice' part. I'm calling a vote and remember that it must be unanimous." Betty took a breath and leaned over the broad table. "All in favor of using the word 'justice' in the name, say 'aye'."

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Aye! Halleluiah, the 'ayes' have it." Betty was relieved that it only took two hours to reach the halfway point of establishing a name; maybe the second half would be easier. "Now we just have to establish a scale."

"Scale?"

"Yeah, scale; are we going to be 'Justice Inc.' or 'Justice Ltd.'…?"

"How about 'Justice For All'?"

"Damn, that's a good one." Shego reached out to bump fists with her little sister.

"You know what would make this discussion easier? Beer."

"All those in favor, say 'aye'."

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"No! It's too early in the day and we have much to do and Kim's not of legal drinking age."

"How about 'Shego, Kim, and the Buzzkiller'?"

"Oh! Is it too late to change my vote to 'Josie And The Pussycats'?"

Betty Director was at her wit's end. Between the hard work and thought and keeping the Possibles in line and seriously focused or preventing them from tearing each other apart when tension ran high, she was no longer in the mood for shenanigans.

"GHAA! WE ARE NOT A BAND, AND IT'S COPYRIGHTED AND I AM NOT A BUZZKILLER!" She raised her fists and slammed them down on the table. "If we ever hope to create an agency that is respected for dispensing justice on a global scale, then we had DAMN WELL BETTER ACT LIKE PROFESSIONALS!"

"She's very excitable, isn't she?"

"I certainly hope that you're not going to act like that around our child, are you?"

"You two can officially kiss my ass for the next five minutes!" Betty swiveled her chair away from the table and allowed herself the time to calm down and control her temper. The girls were just kidding her, she knew, but if they didn't get out and ply their new trade they would never have the chance to get noticed.

Kim sighed and looked to her older sister.

"Sheg, Betty said 'global' a moment ago. That covers the idea of scale, doesn't it?"

"It does, pretty much as big a scale as we could ever hope for." Shego quietly rolled her chair around the table to be closer to the fuming woman. "Baby, we're sorry. We're just bored, that's all."

Betty's reply was to glance at her watch; four minutes remained. Shego knew better than to push her partner when she was angry; she shrugged to her sister and with two minutes remaining, Kim called a vote of her own.

"All those in favor of the name 'Global Justice', say 'aye'."

"Aye."

"Aye."

With over a minute left, Betty turned around to face them.

"Aye. I'm sorry I blew up like that. I'm going to go nuts if we don't get out of here." She sighed and looked around the cavernous space. "Kimmie, how do you normally receive notifications that there's a crime or disaster in progress?"

"Well, there are a couple of ways. I used to subscribe to 'friendfoe-dot-net' but their system frequently shuts down so the notification and private message services were very sporadic. I can't rely on them."

"Yeah, I remember. 'FF-dot-net' can be a real pain that way." Shego readily agreed.

"Note to selves; we'll get our own web site and have someone manage it for us from here. Otherwise, what else is there?"

"Shego and I used to get calls from friends and other local folks if the action was going on in Middleton, Upperton or Lowerton." She whipped out her cell phone. "I've always called mine the 'Kimmunicator' and Spooky's is the 'Shegophone'."

"You two are wack. But that's why I love you." Betty was smiling at Shego and the tall pale girl returned the smile, but Kim looked a little uncomfortable at the remark.

"Beyond that, I'd either catch events on the news or turn on the scanner at home to listen to the police and rescue frequencies."

Betty looked thoughtful, her eyes slightly glazed. With a snap of her fingers, she stood and walked down the length of the chamber to the parked 'ASV'. The Possible girls glanced at each other and followed her.

"This thing still has its original radio, complete with broadcasting capabilities. Until we outfit ourselves with the necessary communications technology, we can use this." They all climbed in and let the huge machine idle, the ventilation system preventing the exhaust from accumulating. The radio buzzed and popped and they adjusted the tuning to monitor for any activity that might let them get out of this hole and onto the streets.

Ironically that didn't have long to wait; a local news report brought them all to attention and made the frustration of weeks of hard labor fade away in a heartbeat.

"They said that the Bueno Nacho is being robbed!"

"Yeah! 'Gunman with hostages'! Spank'n!"

"Mm, and we haven't had lunch yet. Punch it, Shego!"

"Gronk!"

The engine of the beast was revved to life and the wheels gripped the slab beneath as they turned towards the camouflaged door to the lair and drove towards it at full speed. The cavern was so large and they had been parked so deeply into it that they had plenty of time to build up a good head of steam. It was also fortunate that this meant plenty of room to hit the breaks and skid to a stop.

Kim climbed out and ran over to the manual control button on the wall.

"Note to selves; get a damn automatic door opener for emergencies! This is stupid having to open and close the damn door ourselves!" Once clear of the egress, Kim closed the hidden doorway and climbed back in the vehicle. Even though they barely crested 60 MPH, it felt as if they were driving a building and that nothing could stop them.

"Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na…"

"Kimmie, please! This is serious and we should be in a serious frame of mind! There are lives in danger, and we…"

"Uh, Betty, that wasn't me."

"SHEGO!"

"… sorry, sweetheart…"

Betty was right; their chariot definitely was NOT the 'Mach V' but they arrived at the center of town soon enough. The entire police force of Middleton had formed a barricade around the tiny sombrero-shaped building, and more than a few state troopers were on the scene as well. If there were hostages inside, it might not be too long before the Feds also sent a negotiator; the girls couldn't see anyone that looked quite that official. The 'ASV' ground to a halt well beyond the action and the three huddled for a last minute briefing.

"Betty, you're taking the front and Kimmie and I will go in the back entrance. You stay nice and visible out in front and pretend to be a negotiator for the hostages."

"Got it. I'll keep them talking and you get those people out." They both looked to Kim. "Your primary task will be to lead the people out of there; don't argue because that's the most important task here, right?" Kim nodded and raised her thumb in acknowledgement; this wasn't her first barbeque.

"Now we just have to get past them…" Betty pointed at all the police. They left their vehicle behind and confidently walked closer to the barricade.

"Leave that to me. I've worked alongside most of these folks for the past three years at one time or another."

Kim took the lead and the older girls let her, agreeing in the personal assessment of her chances. They had just left the closest knot of onlookers when a young police officer noticed their proximity and moved forward to stave them off. He was very young and his features were dark and initially unfriendly but his eyes widened and he seemed more relaxed when he was finally close enough to speak to them.

"Kim! Hi! And I guess that this is Shego?" Kim motioned to her partners that the sitch was under control and they converged on the young officer.

"Hi, Will. Shego, Betty, this is Officer Du, just late of the Middleton Police Academy." The officer was not much older than Kim and the way that he was looking at the young redhead made it pretty obvious that he was eager to please. The older girls returned the greeting and the three let Will give them the particulars.

"Adult male, arrived two point five hours ago, entered and was seen arguing with the manager; the manager was heard yelling that the man was brandishing a handgun, at which point several patrons and employees ran out of the building. We've had no communication with the subject and no one has approached the building." Officer Du looked through the barricade and past the other anxious members of law enforcement.

"If the guy shows his head, he'll be lucky if someone doesn't blow it off."

"KP!"

All eyes turned to the lanky young man that was running towards them. Betty was bemused to see that this tall, blond and freckled newcomer was wearing what appeared to be the male-cut version of Kim's own mission outfit. He ran right up to them and Kim greeted him warmly and even Shego smiled a little.

"Oh, this is great! I'd hoped that you'd be here, KP!" The boy looked to Shego and nodded. "Hey, Shego! You look good! KP told me you got back in town a few weeks ago. You planning to stay?"

"Yeah, Ron, I am. Look, I suppose you realize that we're here to do the old 'Team Possible' thing, and Kimmie and I would appreciate it if you'd stick around to help coordinate our actions with Office Du and his pals. Will you do that for us?"

"Yeah, sure!" He blushed a little and kept glancing over at Kim, who in turn was shyly avoiding direct eye contact with the boy. Will Du seemed impatient for Ron to leave and was also doing his best to get Kim to notice him. There was a simple plan discussed and the five broke apart, but not before Shego could snag Ron's attention.

"Say, Ron, I've been meaning to thank you for the years that I was in college and you worked with Kimmie to keep Team Possible alive."

"No big; we looked out for each other, you know?"

"I know that you and Kim have been friends forever and that you and I never really got along, but… but you always had her back when you worked together and I'll never forget that." She reached out and gripped his shoulder. "Thanks. I really mean it."

Tall as he was, Ron seemed to grow taller with those words.

"I have big plans for the Team and I'd like you to meet with us something soon. Interested?"

"Well, yeah! Thanks!" He looked back to where Betty was reviewing the finer points of their plan with Kim. "I'd really like to, um… I'd like that, sure." He jogged away in the general direction of Officer Du. She walked over to where Betty and Kim were waiting for her.

"So here's the plan, one more time; I make a big show of talking to the police, something that the gunman will surely notice and hold his attention. You and Kim go around back and enter via the rear door, getting any hostages you find out quietly, and then subdue the gunman." Betty saw that they all understood and agreed to the plan. "Shego, you give me a plasma flash as a sign that it's all clear; I'll advise the police not to fire or anything when you come out."

Promising to wait for her sister before taking action, Kim moved off towards the rear of Bueno Nacho. Betty held Shego back and gave her a hug.

"Betty! Not in public, please!"

"I love it when you blush. You turn a really pretty color of green!"

"Ghaa! I swear that we'll make it publicly known one day, but not right now, Ok?"

"Sure, baby, I understand." The auburn haired woman grinned. "Kimmie sure doesn't seem to mind the attention. How many boyfriends does she have?"

"Please don't let her know that I told you, but none, to be honest. She met Officer Du a while back when he started at the police academy and she's known Ron forever. She's so cute and nice and everyone loves her, but she usually doesn't move beyond friendship." The emerald eyes were slightly downcast and Betty noticed.

"Is that a problem?"

"What?"

"That everybody loves… her?"

"What? No! She's the greatest and she can do anything; she's a hero. Why shouldn't everyone love her?" Shego shrugged. "I'm not jealous, if that's what you're asking!"

"Not even a little? Not of Kimmie, so much, but of the glory?"

"Well… maybe a little. She's never, and I mean NEVER said or done anything to draw more attention to her. She just glows, is all; she shines with this perfection that everyone loves and wants to be near. I love her too; she's my dear one and has always been the most important thing in my life." Shego gave her life-mate a meaningful look.

"She always will be. Can you accept that?"

"I think I can. I love her already and she'll always be a part of our family." She held the green and black clad woman even tighter. "But these are your people, 'Spooky'! This is your home town and you're about to show them exactly what Team Possible is made of!"

Shego appreciated the fact that her lover understood the feelings of alienation the pale green woman had felt throughout her life. Betty didn't release her until they were almost to the growing crowd of people, and not until she whispered one more thing into Shego's ear.

"Baby, together we're going to make the world love you!"

As the plan had dictated, Shego did not join Betty at the impromptu command center directly in front of the windows. She slipped through the crowd and would join Kim at the back of the building. Betty saw Will and Ron talking to the Sheriff of Middleton, a slender man with light brown hair and a high forehead above a pair of eyes that probably did his smiling for him, at least when the situation called for smiling.

Right now the man's entire face was set hard and determined. Will Du made the introductions.

"Betty, I was just informing Sheriff Murphy that you are affiliated with Team Possible and I also told him about your plan to enter the building." Murphy stepped forward and took her hand.

"Glad that you folks are here. I'm new to the area but I've already worked with Team Possible before. Those two saved my bacon a few years ago when my partner and I found ourselves in dire straights."

"Here in Middleton?" Betty wanted to keep talking to this man because it was a part of the plan to distract the gunman inside, but she was also intrigued. Shego had shared some fantastic stories with her and they were always getting cards and emails from grateful folks that Team Possible had saved in the past.

"No, that was back in Detroit; major corruption and scandal between the city government and a huge development and technology contractor, also some pretty major drug manufacturing and distribution. My partner and I were ambushed by some thugs while we were investigating some activity out at an old industrial site; Lewis was safe enough but they were about to blow me away when Shego and Kim showed up." He paused to give some instructions to his officers and he watched them move off to comply before continuing.

"They were apparently on the trail of some guy named Lipsky that may have been involved at some level of the corruption, but I'd never heard his name come up. Doesn't matter, though." He met Betty's gaze and his eyes did smile, albeit briefly.

"I wouldn't be the man I am today if not for those two."

"And your partner?"

"Lewis? She quit the force and got married, had a couple of kids. Good for her, I say. My wife and I brought our son here to raise him far away from that sort of garbage." They became quiet, each focusing on the sitch at hand, Betty once again thinking of the family that she and Shego hoped to have one day. Her ruminations were cut short when she realized that the Sheriff had asked her a question.

"I beg your pardon?"

"There's a rumor that you three are starting your own business; something about security?"

"We certainly hope to make a name for ourselves, sir."

He nodded and looked back to the center of attention for his entire force.

"Hell of a day for this, that's for sure."

The back door of the Bueno Nacho was flanked by a corral for storing waste and an outdoor freezer for perishable foodstuffs. There were no windows at the back and the crowd had been so dense that both Kim and Shego had been able to get to the rear door unseen; there was no way that anyone looking out of the huge plate glass windows would see anything but police cars and officers and guns.

"You got it?" Shego kept away from the door so as not to block the light and hinder Kim's progress. The petite redhead was worrying the lock of the rear door with a straightened piece of wire and a picking rake that she always kept on her person.

"…yep…"

Kim was very focused on the task at hand, feeling her way into the lock and gently aligning the tumblers. She held her breath until they both heard and Kim felt the metal knob turn under the constant pressure from her palm. She grinned up at her big sister and shifted away from where she had been kneeling at the door. Now was the time for stealth and she whispered, not daring to speak out loud.

"It's all in the wrist!"

"Kimmie, you've got to teach me that some day!" Shego whispered in reply and tousled the younger girl's hair. They gently pulled the door open, just wide enough to admit their slender forms but no unwanted light or noise from the outside.

The back storage area was clean and neat, no one and nothing where it should not be. Moving forward, as silent as Ninjas, they found the kitchen area to be equally tidy. Shego gave a few signals to Kim that they should separate before moving off to the service counter and Kim towards the manager's office.

They were facing each other minutes later, having been unsuccessful in locating any hostages. Brows furrowed in puzzlement, they crept to the dining area of the Mexican restaurant, looking into every corner and under every table and still finding nothing out of place. They were standing with their backs to the counter, staring out at the crowd of police and civilians and watching Betty doing her pantomime with Sheriff Murphy when they heard a tiny noise behind them.

It was from the kitchen area, where they had already searched. Turning around and seeing that there was still no sign of danger, they carefully moved back to the stainless steel counter tops and cabinets and sinks. Trays, cutlery and ovens were all orderly and clean, just waiting for the lunch rush, the metal surfaces of the stoves making a gentle ticking sounds as they cooled.

"Kimmie?" The word was barely spoken, almost a breath of air.

"What?"

"Why is everything so clean? This was open and busy when this happened, right?" Both girls glanced around at the spotless perfection of the fast food restaurant.

"Yeah, this place should be ass-deep in meat and cheese and grease right about now."

"Language, Kimber-dweeb."

"Yes, Daddy!" Spoken as quietly as possible so as not to alert anyone, the interior of the place was as quiet as the grave. That made the metallic crash from the rack behind them all the more startling.

An entire metal rack of kitchen tools and pots leaned forward unexpectedly and fell forward to the tiled floor, scattering shiny objects in all directions and revealing a thin bespectacled man wearing what appeared to be the uniform of a Bueno Nacho employee. The girls both knew this man and had seen him in this very establishment for years.

"Ned! Get down!" Shego spun around to cover her sister as Kim grabbed the hiding man and propelled him towards the rear door, firing questions at him all the way.

"Where is everyone else?"

"I…!"

"Where is he? Where is the gunman?"

"Wait, there…!"

The skinny man was stumbling as Kim dragged him through the kitchen, her job made all the more difficult because he was fighting her all the way; she assumed that this must be a stress reaction. She still pressed him for information; her sister was still inside and plasma or no plasma, Shego could be in danger.

"Ned, please! Where is the gunman and where are hostages?"

"THERE ARE NO HOSTAGES!"

Kim stopped just at the metal door, holding the man up against the back wall. He was shaking by now, beads of sweat mixing with what certainly looked like tears.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"There are no hostages, there never were, it's not my fault and I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!" One quivering hand removed his glasses while he wiped at his face, hardly able to breathe. Kim turned away and gave yet another visual inspection to the area in back; just as before, this certainly didn't look like a hostage situation.

Keeping her hands on Ned, mostly to avoid letting him fall over, she called out.

"Shego? You'd better get back here!" Her sister joined her in a few heartbeats.

"Kim, what's with the yelling?"

"He says that there are no hostages." Unable to verbally support the redhead, the man simply nodded, wheezing.

"None?" The narrow head shook a negative to the taller woman.

"You're sure?" Nodding again, less wheezing this time and more color rising back into his face.

"Was there ever a gun?"

He nodded and pointed to the drawer of the manager's desk in the tiny cubicle just off to the right of where they stood. Leaving Kim to hold the man upright, Shego walked over and tugged the drawer open; sure enough, there was a handgun, a simple revolver of what looked like a .38 caliber resting next to paperclips and a few pens that were missing their caps. Leaving the gun in the drawer, Shego walked back to the others.

"Ned, what's going on here?"

"I swear that I didn't do anything wrong! I never stole any money or food or anything!"

With a shared glance, the girls led the skinny man to the front of the serving area and lifted him bodily up to sit on the counter. Kim dispensed a small cup of soda while Shego let him calm down some more.

"Ned, please tell us what happened. Take it slow and don't leave out any details."

"Some… some big corporation just bought up all of the local franchises of Bueno Nacho and moved their own staff and managers in. Everyone else was offered transfers to stores outside of the area." He took a long swallow of the soda. "This is a fast food place, for crying out loud; no one gets offered a pay raise to transfer in the fast food business!"

"Good, good… so then what happened?"

"I didn't want to go and I guess that my employment record was too good for them to outright fire me. Some pretty-boy named Eric was appointed manager and all of a sudden he was calling me into the office every other day with 'anonymous complaints' that I'd been seen stealing money from a register, or that I was taking food out to my car during breaks. I never did anything of the sort! Then this morning he just pulled me away from my place at the counter and he f-f-f-… he fired me!" The young man looked absolutely stricken.

Kim was leaning against the counter watching Shego's reactions to what they were hearing. Ned was always an odd guy; a loner and a bit of a nerd but they both felt that he was probably the best thing that could ever happen to a place like Bueno Nacho. He was a great employee and would probably have become a manager one day. Now he was a wreck and his world had ceased to have meaning. Shego didn't understand the sitch anymore now than when they first walked inside.

"Ok, we follow you so far. But what about the police report of a gunman? And what hostages were they talking about?"

"Well, after I heard the 'F-word', Eric reached into his pocket and said that he had my final paycheck. I was completely stunned; I guess that I would have held my hand out for a hot coal even if he'd told me that my hand would catch fire. What he handed to me sure wasn't a paycheck, it was that." Ned used his cup to gesture toward the open desk drawer.

"This Eric guy handed you a gun?"

"He actually put a gun in your hand?"

"Yeah." Ned looked sick. "I've never even seen a gun up close, let alone touched one. I just looked at it and wondered what I was going to do about my job when Eric yelled, 'He's got a gun!' and all heck broke loose!" The man began to wring his hands together. "I swear that I didn't know what was happening!"

"It's Ok, you're doing great. Now, you said that he gave you the gun, he yelled 'gun' and then everybody ran out?"

"Yeah."

"There never were hostages?"

"No! Never! Everyone had already run outside before I could react; they were all screaming and yelling and I was too shocked to move. By the time I thought to do anything, there were a million cops outside and I knew that I was in deep trouble."

"And you've been in here alone all this time?"

"Yes. I, uh, cleaned the place and turned everything off." His eyes glazed over as he visualized the specific instructions in the Bueno Nacho Employee Handbook. "'In case of emergency, all appliances are to be deactivated to prevent fire.'"

"So why do the police think that there were hostages?"

"I don't know, unless that's what Eric told them…"

"Kimmie, Ned's dry; hit him again and get one for each of us, will you?" Shego moved closer to the glass of the main windows. "I'm going to give Betty the high sign." Cupping her hands, Shego generated a 'bubble' of plasma; lacking enough power to create a blast of force or flame, it dissolved quickly in her hands but not before flaring in a blossom of bright green light.

Peering out through the window to the crowd across the parking lot, she was relieved to see Betty react and begin speaking animatedly with Sheriff Murphy. Officer Du and Ron were standing with them and Shego watched as Murphy apparently instructed the young men to spread the word to 'stand down'; as they ran down the front line, the police officers were holstering their weapons and taking a more relaxed posture. Returning to the other two, Shego had some instructions for Kim.

"Baby, I'd like you to go out there and tell Betty that everything's Ok and that I'm just assuring the subject that he won't be hurt. Tell Murphy that the gun is secured and that we'll be out in a minute." She stroked the girl's cheek. "Will you do that for me?"

"Sure. When will we tell them what's really going on?"

"As soon as WE know what's going on, we'll tell them! This is weird, Kimmie, really weird. But we'll tell Betty as soon as we get out of here and head back to the base. In the meantime, I want to have a quick word with Ned." Kim nodded and they both turned to watch Ned, who was glancing around the abandoned restaurant like a lost child. She reached out and patted his knee, smiling at him when he looked at her.

"It'll be Ok, Ned, really. Just do whatever she says and we'll do what we can to make sure you don't get in trouble." Ned looked appreciative, even if less than fully confident. Kim left them and carefully walked out of the small building by the front door.

"She's right, Ned. I believe you and see no reason for you to tell us a story as crazy as this unless it were true. But the police aren't going to be so open minded… not without something to back up your story." Shego slid down from the counter and helped the shaking man down onto his feet; he was going into adrenaline withdrawal and wasn't as steady as he should have been.

"Will I have to go to jail?"

"Yes, I think you will, at least until we can get this sorted out. We'll convince Sheriff Murphy that you aren't a danger and that you should be kept away from anyone else. But I want you to listen to me; I promise that Team Possible will be making full reports to the police and Kimmie and I will tell them exactly what you told us. I promise you that we'll do all that we can to get you out of jail and back home as quickly as possible." Shego held onto the man's narrow shoulders and turned him around to face her.

"Ok?"

"Sure, Ok." He looked crestfallen but resigned, patient if not hopeful.

"Then stand beside me and don't be afraid. We'll make sure that no one hurts you." Together they walked to the door and out into the parking lot.

"…and so ends the crisis today at the Bueno Nacho here in Middleton; the gunman is now in custody and there has been no loss of life. The patrons owe their safety, maybe even their very lives to this brave young man who was just appointed the manager a few days ago…"

"Senator, you should see this!"

The young man was severely dressed in a suit and tie with a shirt collar so pressed and tight that, if he turned his head too quickly, he might slit his throat. He had kept the hotel suite's television on while busily arranging the Senator's schedule for the rest of the week, only taking notice when he heard the name 'Middleton'.

"What? I'm in the can, here!" The voice was muffled and did happen to be coming from the general vicinity of the bathroom. "Trust me, you do NOT want me to open this door right now!"

Spence had turned up the volume and was absorbing the details of the news report so that he could appraise his employer when he left the bathroom and returned to their work of the Senator's schedule. It was several minutes before Spence heard the bathroom door open and his boss walked into the suite's living room area.

"Whoo! Do not, I repeat, do NOT go in that room for at least an hour."

"No, sir."

Spence was well aware that when his boss made a statement like that, the man was serious. Not that the man didn't frequently play pranks on his aides and advisors; the Senator was renowned for his incredible sense of humor and playful spirit. The man had adamantly refused to grow up.

"Hey, Spency! You want a beer?" The suite had a fully stocked kitchenette and the refrigerator door was heard to open and close, the sound of bottles tinkling in the other room.

"No thank you, sir."

"Why not, it don't cost nothing…"

The Senator was wearing his favorite jeans and had left his shirt hanging out over his belt. The man was barefoot, not unusual when he was in for the night, and his five o'clock shadow made him look less like a U. S. Senator and more like an ex-football player gone to seed. In truth, the older man had once been athletic, but age and lifestyle had added pounds to his fireplug frame that made him appear soft. More than once the Senator had proven that he could still hold his own in a fight, much to the embarrassment of his fellow politicians and the delight of the Washington, DC press corps. His constituents absolutely loved him, and that alone kept him in office.

Well into middle age, the man would still occasionally try to out-fight, out-party or out-drink men less than half his age, and usually he won. The years and the loss of his beloved wife had made the eternal clown grow up a bit since he had left his college days behind him for the tawdry world of politics, but the man was a force of nature and nothing could slow him down.

When Senator John Blutarsky entered the living room area, he was dancing with two bottles of beer.

He held one bottle in each hand and was moving them back and forth, around and up and down and making them twist and sway to a tuneless song that he was humming, smiling down benevolently upon the glass containers as if he were angel in dire need of a shave. After making one bottle sweep it's 'partner' into a low dip, he clinked their necks together in a brief but passionate 'kiss' before gently setting one beer down beside the printed copies of his monthly agenda and smashing the other bottle on the edge of the table, effectively making the liquid inside more easily accessible.

Spence wished for the ten-thousandth time that he'd taken the job at the post office back home.

"You can have this one if you change your mind." The Senator slid the undamaged bottle closer to his assistant.

"No thank you, sir." Spence decided to draw the man's attention to the news on the television. "Senator, there's a news report of a disturbance in Middleton. A fast food restaurant was being robbed or something by an ex-employee."

"Middleton? Aren't we going there in a few days for a fundraiser?"

"We were, but in light of this, maybe we…"

"Spency, you worry too much." The man took a quick drink of beer and set the broken bottle down, gingerly picking a few stray bits of brown glass from his mouth. The beer would likely stay on the end table and become flat before he took his next drink; most of the Senator's drinking exploits were for show these days and years of over-indulgence had finally taught him that fat, drunk and stupid were no way to go through life.

"Now than, sir, there are few details about the Middleton visit that…"

"Hey, three hot chicks! Spency, turn up the sound!" Far too used to such exclamations than he would like to be, Spence increased the volume and looked to the TV to see what had drawn the Senator's attention. The video footage of the Bueno Nacho incident was running and in the background there were three oddly dressed women speaking to a very confused looking Sheriff.

"… integral in the apprehension of the suspect and assisting the local police in this matter was the newly reformed and expanded Team Possible."

The older man pointed to the television and nudged his assistant.

"I've heard of that one, the red headed one. She's as cute as a button and kick's major ass."

"Sir, I think that she's just graduated from high school."

"Spency, you are just no fun." John grinned.

"No sir." On the television, the video image shifted to show the rest of the Team.

"Hello, what have we here?"

"… beside the teen-hero Kim Possible are her older sister Shego Possible, whom viewers should remember as being the originator and co-member of Team Possible along with her younger sister, and they have been joined by Betty Director, new to the Team and certainly…"

The three girls had been in a deep discussion with Sheriff Murphy when the film was taken, hardly noticing the press until the Sheriff had moved off to have a word with his deputies about whatever he'd been told by Shego and Kim. The presence of the lights and the reporter had apparently gotten their attention because the redhead suddenly began mugging for the camera and held her hand over the head of the taller, pale girl in a familiar 'bunny ears' gesture.

No sooner had the pale woman turned and yelled at her sister than the auburn haired woman in the dark blue outfit grabbed the green and black clad girl in a tight hug. The camera clearly registered a deepening in the taller girls greenish skin tone and moments later she jumped as she'd been goosed.

"… reputable sources say that this reappearance of the upgraded Team Possible are due to a plan for these three to create a private security taskforce, based in Middleton, and likely continuing the world-saving, crime-fighting exploits made famous by the original founders. This reporter, for one, wishes them good fortune. This has been Margo Ogram reporting for WACK News at Five; back to you, Todd."

"Hey, I bet they're lesbians!"

"Sir?" The younger man reached out and turned the set off before there could be any further distractions.

"See those girls in the tight clothes? See how they're acting around each other, all huggy and kissy and stuff?" The older man waggled his dark eyebrows at his assistant.

"Sir, if you're using me to test some new verbiage on a speech about equal rights or same-sex marriage…"

"I am not talking to you any more." John shook his head in mild disgust.

"Thank you, sir. Now, about the visit to Middleton…"

"BRILLIANT!"

"Sir?"

"Here's what we'll do; you call the Middleton police and arrange to have this, uh, this Team Possible work with our own security detail. That way I'll get to meet them in person!" The Senator snagged his beer and toasted his excellent idea; it was still fresh.

"We can also arrange to stop by that Bueno Nacho and congratulate the manager for getting everyone out safe and sound."

"Sir, that's… actually a good idea. I'll make all of the calls first thing in the morning."

"You do that boy. Stick with me, kid, and there will be lesbians in tight clothing and Mexican food for everyone!"

Senator Blutarsky set the beer back down where it would remain untouched until Spence cleaned the room up after the older man went to bed. John glanced back to the desk of the hotel suite and gazed at the photograph of his late wife, almost able to hear her make fun of him for never outgrowing his juvenile college ways. If she had been here now, he'd have been joking right along with him over the 'lesbians and Mexican food' line.

"Yep, I suspect that Middleton will prove to be an interesting visit!"

WACK was a local station that served just the Middleton, Lowerton and Upperton cable markets, and wouldn't be seen outside of that general area. The video feed that was being displayed upon the enormous view screen now was being piped in from an old communications satellite that had been hijacked years ago. The room was dark and the face of the sole living occupant was starring at the screen fixedly, his features illuminated only by the shifting colors of the video picture. He was also watching the report about Bueno Nacho and the arrival of Team Possible.

"Eric, you have done well. Now that every Bueno Nacho in the area is staffed by only our people, we can set the trap."

The man hadn't turned his head or moved in any way, but another shape reacted to his voice and came closer. It was a tall young man, tanned and with stylishly arranged hair, hands clasped at his back and standing at ridged attention.

"Thank you. The interference by Team Possible was an unforeseen event."

"Hmm, maybe… but I believe that this will work to our advantage. When that buffoon Blutarsky stops for his fundraiser he will surely want to be seen with either you or, at least, the heroes that saved the day! It's too much of a 'photo-op' for any politician to pass up!"

The man's face appeared almost to be blue in the light radiating from the video screen. He pressed a button on a small remote control in his gloved hand and the screen deactivated. Another button caused the room to be filled with light.

His face was still blue.

"By the end of the week, I'll have a United States Senator under my complete control and will have rid myself of the meddlesome Team Possible forever!"

Next, the brain-curdling conclusion!

Author's Note: notes have been sparse this trip, but here's one; there were a lot of references made to the intellectual property of others so I must atone. Marvel Publishing Group owns 'Heroes For Hire' and 'S.H.I.E.L.D.', Aaron Spelling was the executive producer of 'Charlie's Angels', 'Ghostbusters' was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, 'Justice League' is owned by DC Comics, 'Josey and the Pussycats' is owned by Hanna-Barbera, 'Cousin Itt' is the creation of Charles Addams, and the characters 'Murphy' and 'Lewis' were written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner but you'll have to figure out where they came from yourself. I'm too tired!

At the end of this chapter I reintroduced us to someone with whom many are well acquainted; I hope that no one minds seeing him in action again, even if in fiction and with my own personal twist. You will see him again in at least one other story of mine. The character was created either by John Landis, Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney or Chris Miller.


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